Abstract
Several abiotic stress factors are faced by the plants in nature, including metal exposure and water deficit condition. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of copper and its combination with water deficit, on growth and anatomical characteristics of Zea mays L. (maize) cv. Ganga safed-2 seedlings. Seeds were treated with CuSO4 (0-1000µM) for inducing Cu stress, PEG 6000 (0-10%) for inducing water deficit stress and their combination for combined stress for 5 days. Germination %, growth parameters, % phytotoxicity, and root anatomical characteristics were analyzed. Treatment of maize seeds with 0-1000µM CuSO4 significantly reduced almost all the growth parameters, except germination %. Root growth was inhibited significantly at 100µM and higher concentrations of CuSO4, however, for shoot growth, ?300µM are inhibitory. Germination percentage was not affected by the supplementation of Cu, indicating the tolerant nature of Ganga safed-2 maize genotype at germination stage. Treatment with Cu (?300µM) and PEG 6000 (10%), decreased the growth of maize seedlings with prominent effect on root by Cu and on the shoot by 10% PEG. Anatomical modifications in root were noticed with both the stresses, individually and in combination.
Highlights
Heavy metal contamination is the pervasive threat that makes a significant contribution to environmental pollution
When seeds were treated with 0-1000μM concentrations of CuSO4, there was no significant change in germination percentage
Non-significant difference in % germination of maize seeds treated with varying concentrations of CuSO4 in the present study indicates that probably Ganga safed-2 maize variety is resistant towards Cu toxicity even up to 1000 concentration at germination stage
Summary
Heavy metal contamination is the pervasive threat that makes a significant contribution to environmental pollution. [2,3] It is an essential trace element for plants required for normal growth and development. It may act as a structural element in regulatory proteins, like, plastocyanin and a constituent of many enzymes, such as, cytochrome C oxidase, Cu/zinc superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, diamine oxidase, polyphenol oxidase etc. Structural modifications in the form of thickening of epiblema, endodermis, cell wall of xylem and cortical parenchyma, increase in the number of protoxylem and metaxylem elements, increased proportion of pith have been observed in several reports due to heavy metal elements, such as, copper, cadmium, chromium and lead [13,14,15,16]
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